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Silverstone announces Red Bull partnership for MotoGP

MotoGP’s highly anticipated return to Silverstone was a resounding success in 2010, praised by riders, fans and media alike. Following its promise to deliver an even bigger two-wheeled festival at this year’s AirAsia British Grand Prix (10-12 June), the Northamptonshire circuit is delighted to announce it has secured the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, the Red Bull Matadors and legendary trials rider Dougie Lampkin as part of its world-class entertainment package.

The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup will be a new support race at this year’s event – Britain’s only round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship. Silverstone will host rounds five and six of the popular grass roots racing series, from which several riders have graduated into MotoGP, including Andrea Dovizioso or Hiroshi Aoyama. The best young talent from 15 nations will battle it out on the Saturday and Sunday of the MotoGP weekend, hoping to emulate the likes of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo on Silverstone’s super-fast Grand Prix Circuit.

Away from the track, the Red Bull Matadors will be a spectacular new addition for 2011. Throughout the weekend, the UK’s most dynamic aerobatic team will be taking to the skies and wowing the Silverstone crowd. Aerobatic gold medallists Paul Bonhomme and Steve Jones will be performing breathtaking manoeuvres and extreme displays in their high speed stunt planes.

Back on terra firma, Dougie Lampkin MBE will be returning to Silverstone again this year, providing further off-track entertainment. The twelve-times FIM Trial World Champion, renowned for his mesmerising skills on two wheels, was a huge draw in 2010 and is back by popular demand to perform several shows throughout the weekend.

In addition, the Red Bull riders – British 125cc and Moto2 riders Danny Kent and Scott Redding, and MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa – will be signing autographs and answering questions from the fans in public interview sessions; while a mobile Red Bull DJ will be out and about, playing music in spectator areas.

Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, commented, “We promised MotoGP fans a better experience at Silverstone, and in 2010 we delivered just that. The feedback from the fans, and everyone who came to Silverstone last year was fantastic. But we want to deliver even more this year.

“First and foremost, the fans come to watch the racing and see the likes of Rossi, Lorenzo and – of course – Cal Crutchlow go head-to-head. But the off-track entertainment and facilities are crucial to the overall experience. Many of the fans spend three or four days at MotoGP and it’s important that there’s plenty to keep them and their families entertained. We’ve lined-up a world-class entertainment package with Red Bull – what’s more, it’s all free, adding further value to the cost of a MotoGP ticket.”